Continuous rotary retort.



P. S. SHOAFF. CONTINUOUS ROTARY HETORT. APPLICATION msn SEPT. 21, |915.

1,284,479. Patented Nov. 12, 1918.

PAUL S. SHOFF, OF LONG- BEAGH, CALIFORNIA.

CONTINUOUS ROTARY nnronr.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented N017, 12, 1918,

Application led September 21, 1916. SerialNo, 121,409.

.To alli/whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL S. SHOAFF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Long Beach, in the county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Continuous Rotary Retorts, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for the destructive distillation of kelp or similar organic matter, or for heat-treating any matter which may be treated in the manner hereinafter specified; and it is a primary object of this invention to provide a simple, effective and durable form of apparatus for continuously carrying on such treatment. I describe my invention as applied to the treatment of kelp, or the like, describing a.

specific form of apparatus particularly adapted for this particular purpose.

After kelp has been wholly or partially dried, it is often desirable to convert it into a char which becomes a carrier for the potash and other salts, useful as a fertilizer, or capable of being subjected t0 further refining processes for the production of\y potassium and other salts and various byroducts. If the dried or partially dried .relp is burned in the presence of any appreciable or considerable quantity of air an inferior product results; fusion and clinkering of the saline constituents taking place. Such a'method is, moreover, generally costly and wasteful.

In my apparatus herein described, I provide means for continuously subjecting the material the kelp-to the action of heat at a uniform temperature, in the comparative absence of air (that is, the air being sufficiently excluded so that the small amount present does not cause any injurious results). By such treatment I obtain a char free from volatile organic matter, containing no clinkers, but containing the valuable mineral constituents in such form as to be easily available as fertilizer or for subsequent separation and refinement. Furthermore, in this'apparatus, the volatilized matter may be recovered and utilized.

In the following specication I explain a preferred form of device,- particularly adapted for treating kelp and the like; and I illustrate said device in the accompanying drawings, in which, Figure 1 is a longitudlnal section and side elevation of the rotary retort or incinerator, showing the accompanylng apparatus diagrammatically; Fig. 2 1s a section taken as indicated by line 2 2 on Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged end elevatlon taken as indicated by line 3 3 on Fig. l; Fig. 4 is anv enlargedI section taken as indicated by line 4 4; on Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged section taken as indicated by line 5 5 on Fig. 1.

In.` the drawings I illustrate a furnace structure 10 inclosing a furnace chamber 11 of suitable size and shape to contain and surround an elongated retort, or incinerator tube 12 placed in an inclined position as illustrated. A burner of any character (for instance, one utilizing liquid fuel) is inserted at 15 through the furnace door 13 and an arch 14;l protects the tube 12 from excessive heating directly over the burner 15. If it is desired to use solid fuel, suitable construction may be made; and fuel box and opening may be provided on one or both sides of the furnace. This is merely utilizing ordinary structure and does not concern the invention. A baffle wall 16 is located about midway of the furnace chamber to throw the heated gases of combustion up to the higher rear portions of the tube 12; and a draft stack 17 carries oi" the products of combustion'y from the upper front part of the furnace chamber. Those parts of the furnace walls exposed most directly to the heat of the flame may be built of fire resisting material, in the manner well known to the art; and the walls may have open heat-A insulating spaces 103, .as illustrated. The length of chamber 11 depends upon the length of tube 12; and this, in turn, depends upon the time required to fully treat the material passing ,through the tube and the speed at which 4the material travels longitudinally in the tube. The width of chamber 11 is not very much greater than the external diameter of the tube 12, as shown in Fig. 2; and on each of the opposite sides of the chamber, horizontally 0pposite each other and opposite the center of the tube 12, I provide two baiie walls,Y or ledges' 20, extending from the front wall 21 of the furnace to a oint near the rear wall 22 thereof, These aiiles 2O project from the side walls f of coinbu j passing upu'ui'dia' tion of the tube closct" tiA end of Jhe tube bos: fit the the box 38 and discharges at its end into the upper end of tube l2. The spirali conveyer., or other feeding device, is operated from shaft 45T driven by chain i8 from main shaft 49. Also i drive the tube l2 from shaft 49 through the medium of a shaft 50 and gearing 51, and u pinion on shaft 50 meshing with a large gear 533 mounted upon and encircling tube `i2. The ratios of the various gears are so calculated and arranged that the feeder Will feed into the tube l2 just that amount of material which inay be efficiently treated in tube l2; and the rotation of the tube is at a sufcient speed to cause the ma terial to gradually move down the tube and to more completely through the tube in the time required for complete treatment. :t find that7 for the purposes of treating help in the manner specified, the temperature of the tube is not necessarily over 80W-900O F.

This temperature sutlices to completely cha-r the material and to drive od the volatile he tube is h it te, or prevent accumulation r gas pressuve in the tube l2, This exhauster 63 forces the remaining gases into se condensers '64: and 65 where the condensable gases arD retained and finally forces gases into any suitable holder at 66. The final gases may be used for fuel or other purposes; or the gases may be merely -dis- @e charged into the atmosphere, in which case the exhaust fan is directly connected to 38. ff the condensate from the gases is valtuiblea the gases Will be put through condensers, as shown at @e and 65; otherwise, the gases may be either directly rejected or used as fuel.

Having described a invention, l claim:

ln a device of the character described., 1 furnace having a furnace chamber9 a burner in the lower part of one end of the chanib a rotary tube extending lengthwise thr the chamber and extending slightly d t nally downwardly toward the burner end of the chamber, the burner being under the tube, the interior of the tube being nonn communicative with the furnace chamben means to rotate the tube, a draft stach lea l ing upwardly from the upper part of chamber above the tube at said burner end of the chamber, and bafe Walls extendl inwardly from the side Walls of the c" ber close to the opposite side Walls of ne tube, said baffle Walls each extending from said end of the furnace to a point near its upper end, that part of the furnace chamber beneath the tube and the baffie Walls forming an undivided chamber, so that the frame and heated gases from the burner travel horizontally and somewhat upwardly under the preferred form of tube from the burner end of the chamber to withdraw it from the lower end thereof at the opposite end and then travel upwardly the burner end of the furnace. around both opposite sides of the tube and In witness .that I claim the foregoing I 10 then travel over the tube toward its lower have hereunto subscribed my name this 13th.

5 end to the draft stack at the burner end of day of September, 1916.

the furnace chamber, and means to feed materal into the upper end of the tube and ,RAUL S. SHOFF. 

